Experiment SW-05
by Lanny-Sama
Summary: In the face of capture and execution, Shockwave does the most logical thing; he forces a sparkbond on a sparkling. It might not work out the way he expects. (Formatting fixed)
1. The bonding

Shockwave's position was compromised. The blastdoors to his lab were being pounded to scrap, and Shockwave stood at his terminal, trying to contact Megatron for the fifth time. The Autobots had surrounded his lab, and he had lost any remaining communication with Decepticon troops. Shockwave was trapped like a petrofox in its own den.

::Lord Megatron, this is Shockwave. My position has been compromised. The Autobots have located my lab and are working their way inside. I await your orders::

There was no answer, just like there had been no answer from the other four frequencies, and Shockwave quickly switched to the next. Before he could start a transmission, a repeated message burst from his speakers instead of static.

::-SELVES! …... TO ALL DECEPTICONS. MEGATRON HAS FALLEN. SURRENDER YOURSELVES! ... TO ALL-::

Shockwave switched the frequency before the message could repeat, and he broadcasted his own message for Megatron once again. The Autobots had hacked one of the Decepticon frequencies in order to throw the army into disarray. Again his chosen frequency answered only in static. Shockwave switched frequecies-  
>There was a loud bang, and the screen of his terminal flickered out. They had broken through the first blastdoors. Shockwave pulled away from the terminal.<p>

He knew in perfect detail what kind of legal punishment would be thrown on him. Humane in their reasoning, sure, but surrendering after doing so much for the Decepticons was simply illogical. It would not help his standing. With only the light of his red optic, he wrenched open the door to one of his experiment-bays. The harsh pounding and crashing against the blastdoors sounded closer, his time was running out. An explosion rocked the lab, and a cascade of brittle experiments were broke on impact with the floor, spilling meticulously measured fluids and oils everywhere.

Shockwave barged through the mess as quickly as he could. There was no salvaging them unless he survived, and though Shockwave swore by the cold embrace of logic, his survival would have to depend on chaos this one time. Shockwave pushed a fallen contain unit out of his way and sent an unseen tool skittering over the floor. At the very end of his lab lied his only chance at escape.  
>The sparkling pods were half crushed, and the little forms inside were squirming soundlessly from inside the experimental shells. Shockwave yanked apart one of the pods, and pulled out its contained sparkling. Broken wires and dented protoplating was what greeted him. It was too damaged. Shockwave dropped it carelessly at his feet, and rooted through the other pods. The sound of screeching sparklings was almost enough to drown out the Autobots banging on his blastdoors.<p>

There was no time for a perfect selection- not anymore. It had, perhaps, been illogical to continue his attempts at contacting Megatron with the Autobots at his door. Shockwave grabbed a mostly undamaged sparkling from one of the pods, and pressed his claws in the seams of its tiny chestplates. The sparkling screeched and fought as its chestplates were wrenched apart and the pristine glow of a spark lit the darkness from behind the folded metal. Shockwave had seen many sparks in his life, and he had snuffed nearly all of them shortly after seeing them. It wouldn't be like that today. Shockwave shifted the thrashing sparkling in his grip, and opened his chestplates, exposing his own spark to the stifling laboratory air.

The Autobots had reached the last door, they were fully audible even over the howling of the dying sparklings at Shockwave's pedes. Shockwave looked over his shoulder, and pressed the infantile spark against his own. The sparkling's small helm snapped back, and its screaming cut off into choking static.  
>The tiny spark was a whirling ball of panic and fear. Shockwave's kneejoints trembled momentairly at the icy terror that gripped his spark, before he forced his own energies into the tiny spark. Need. Loyalty. Logic.<br>The sparkling was nearly drowning in Shockwave's energies, but Shockwave had no time for its worries. He flared the energies in his spark, and they latched onto the tiny spark held forcefully against his chest.  
>The tiny spark was nothing but pain and fear, and in pure desperation Shockwave could feel wispy tendrils of its own trying to hold onto Shockwave's spark. The touch of those fragile newsparked energies sent a violent shock through his systems, and Shockwave threw back his helm as he let out an involuntary sound of pleasure.<p>

The sounds from his impeding doom were fading as the forced sparkbond demanded all his processor power. He was melting into the tiny little spark, for a moment infusing with the uncompleted little being. He could see all the short moments of awareness that the sparkling had been through and feel the faintest structure of an unfinished personality. It was a sultry caress compared to the lashes of memory his own spark was whipping at the sparkling, and Shockwave distantly heard himself moaning in the dark of his lab.  
>The sparkling was screaming, its tiny optics rolling without pattern, and its limbs twitching erratically. Shockwave could feel the tiny spark almost threatening to dissolve with his force, but the untouched wisp of life did not fade. The connection was steeling, like the weld keeping them sealed together was cooling. The sparking was convulsing, and half-processed blobs of lubricant leaked from its un-upgraded interface port.<p>

It was done. Shockwave pulled the sparkling away from his spark, and snapped his chestplates closed. The sparkling trembled in his hold, its frame completely slack and its chestplates still pried open.  
>The Autobots broke through the blastdoor, and Shockwave stumbled to hide behind one of the fallen operation tables.<p>

"Shockwave! You have one last chance! Surrender now or you will be shot!" Optimus Prime. So it was his little band that had broken in. It was a fortunate turn of events. Shockwave's systems were straining from the forced sparkbonding, but he was more than satisfied. He pushed away the frantic fear and panic emanating from his newly bonded and spoke loud and clear to the Autobots invading his lab.  
>"Before you shoot, I must warn you. If you harm me, a young innocent sparkling will suffer." He laid emphasis on the words that he knew would trigger the Autobot leader, and took satisfaction in the apprehensive tone that had crept into the Prime's voice.<p>

"You have a hostage?"  
>Shockwave had something better than a hostage. He stood and held the sparkling in plain sight, its spark still painfully visible to the world and Shockwave's fans whirring from the pleasure of the merge. "No." He lifted the sparkling higher. "I have a bondmate."<p>

The Autobots reared back, and Optimus Prime's face seemed to turn into ice. After several long moments of shock, a fuming Autobot femme stepped forward her face was twisted in pained rage while her weapon charged. "... You-!" Shockwave held the shocked sparkling closer to his spark and it let out a terrified tone of pain and horror. As Shockwave had predicted, the weak sparkling was enough of an incentive to keep their guns inactive. It didn't matter that their wish to tear him limb from limb was radiating off them. All that mattered was that he now had a permanent hostage, and for as long as the Autobots wanted to keep the sparkling safe- he would be safe as well.

Shockwave felt pleased, even as a roiling sick feeling was emanating from his bondmate. Logic revealed that his opportunity for escape had increased significantly.


	2. Once escaped

**Once Escaped**

Shockwave had never wanted Cybertron to go to waste as it had, but as he dragged himself through the wreckage of a destroyed settlement to lose the Autobots still on his trail, he could only be content with the cover it provided him. Escaping had been easy- the meek Autobots had not aimed to kill, but rather to incapacitate. Shockwave's legs ached.

His newly bonded sparkling was with him. He closed his servo tighter around the trembling little frame, and tried to ignore the feelings it was sending him over their bond. It was in an endless stage of fright, and it cringed with every step Shockwave took. Logic surmised that the sparkling could probably feel the pain in Shockwaves legs. The Autobots had all but fried his pedes during his escape attempts. If the sparkling hadn't been screeching its head off, Shockwave felt that a few Autobots might have shot for his spark regardless of his hostage. It was unfortunate that the bond went two ways. Shockwave could feel the unsettling ache of parted spark-plates ghosting over his sensorgrid.

There was a pulse over the bond, a slight tingle that brought the sparkling's tank-lunching fear to Shockwave's processor, and he slammed it away. He forced his own waves of cold, calculated contentness over the bond, and the sparkling twitched feebly in his hold, sending another uncontrollable tendril of fear to Shockwave's spark. Shockwave's systems jarred, and he tried to close the bond as much as was possible.  
>The Autobots had been aiming for the least responsive pain receptors, obviously in an attempt to bring him down without hurting the sparkling too much. They should have fired to kill, because now Shockwave had escaped them. He was free! Stranded on a half-dead planet, with Autobot stragglers soon to come in from all over the galaxy and soldiers scanning every scrapheap for Decepticon activity- but he was free. Shockwave had confidence. There wasn't much that could destroy a well-informed being of pure logic.<p>

His labs had all been compromised, but it was not the first time Shockwave was left in the rubble with nothing but his own servos and wits. Starscream briefly came to mind, and the sparkling in his hold cried out at the wave of dislike and anger coiling inside Shockwave's spark. Shockwave sent a punishing wave of ice through the bond to silence it.  
>He already had a list of locations best suited for a temporary base. He had deactivated his comm, and forced the same on the sparkling. All that could be sensed now were their sparks, but there was no Autobot in range to scan the landscape, not after he'd lost them in the ruins of some forgotten city.<p>

Shockwave paused inside the shattered remains of a medic-post. He had a new location for his base picked out, just barely in the range of the Autobots, right under their radar. According to his data, it had been abandoned due to a cosmic rust infection. Shockwave felt that the risk was worth it. If there was cosmic rust in that base, he would simply have to postpone his other experiments and make a cure. It was not too complicated if you knew what you were doing.

The sparkling's fear had died down, and it had made place for a detached kind of clingyness. Shockwave could feel the tiny presence of the sparkling no matter how tightly he shut the bond, and with every moment the sparkling seemed to be scratching at his walls- trying to contact with his spark. It was highly unsettling. Luckily, Shockwave no longer needed the sparkling. It was a simple matter of destroying the remains of his experiment, and moving onwards. He could always bluff that it was still bonded to him.

Shockwave reached for the small Cybertronian's spark, and hesitated. He could feel the ghostly sensation of claws reaching for his spark, and it was making alarms pop up on his HUD. His claws lingered over the tiny spark, before moving to the sparkling's unprotected neck, and snipping one of the vital energon lines. He could reuse the frame and melt it into his energon for additional supplements.  
>The tiny bot cried at the pain, and then started panicking as the systems started draining. Shockwave recoiled as he felt the tiny spark clawing against the closed bond, screeching in panic and fear, longing for comfort.<p>

Shockwave reinforced the walls keeping their sparks separated, but the tiny spark did not cease its frantic scrabbling and he could still feel it. Shockwave's systems were pinging him with an error, and his spark was pulsing faster. Something was …. strange.  
>A whisper of incomprehension, unease and curiosity running through Shockwave's processor were all it took for his mental walls to drop. The small spark clawed into Shockwave with a wail so loud it seemed to come from within his own audials. Shockwave seized, and his vocaliser let out a horrid sound. It felt like there were claws hooking into his spark, and someone was pulling it out of his chest. The sparkling was fading, pulling away- towards the allspark, but the claws in Shockwave's spark were not loosening their grip. The sparkling-... no. Shockwave was dying!<p>

Their panic connected, and Shockwave's frame gave a violent tremble. Errors peppered his screen, critical systems suddenly stalling and long suppressed coding surging to life. Logic processors were thrown for a loop as emotions took hold of his system for the first time in eons.

Fear, worry, gut-wrenching pain! Shockwave dropped to his knees, and tried to stem the flow of energon from the sparkling's neck. The slick feeling of energon was like acid on his servos, and the bond with the sparkling magnified the pain, echoing it back with screaming terror. Shockwave had nothing to substantially repair the sparkling with. His knowledge reached the sparkling, and their panic resonated in twisted harmony.  
>Shockwave forced a burst of power into his systems, his fuel pump straining as he did so. No. Logic would prevail. He would not die! His processors strained, but Shockwave used what little power he had to force his emotions back down.<p>

He could not weld the sparkling's wounds. No welder- no emergency patches, a clamp would only inhibit energon-flow-... Shockwave clawed into his own plating and forcefully pulled out a set of his own fuel-lines. He cut one open, and pulled the sparkling up to his chest, his shivering servo hastily trying to connect the sparkling to his own frame to save it. The sparkling's fuel lines were small enough to fit inside Shockwave's, and the sensation of his emotional coding falling dormant again was like being doused in coolant.

The sparkling was safe, crudely connected to his body by stuffed-together wires, but safe and alive. Shockwave was safe and alive. The residue of his emotional coding was still buzzing in his lines, and Shockwave pulled the sparkling closer to him, his chestplates sliding open. The spark of the youngling was unprotected, and their sparks latched together in a snap.  
>Shockwave sprawled back against a heap of rubble and tried not to feel the echoing emotions from his bondmate. Shockwave curled his spark around the essence of his bondmate, and tried to consume it. His processors were running wild with calculations, even as his backstrut arched at a clumsy touch of his bonded's spark. Shockwave had overlooked something- something immeasurably important. Killing the sparkling- it should not have felt like that. He should have been able to extinguish the spark with only minor discomfort!<p>

His spike was pressurised, but it went ignored in the face of the overwhelming sensations that came from the writhing spark that was held against his own. A sound escaped his vocaliser, but it was lost in the panicked sobbing of the sparkling.  
>Shockwave had hardlined with dying mechs in the past, and experienced every single moment of their passing. He had assumed this would be the same, but in those experiments his own spark had not been pulling towards the All-Spark. No. Shockwave had miscalculated. Shockwave was losing himself in the merge, and the energies from their spark were building. The sparkling had stopped crying, and was making stressed little moans as it rubbed its tiny frame against Shockwave's chestplates.<p>

What had he done?!

Overload hit him, and Shockwave's vocaliser spat obscene noises at the air. Shockwave clung to the sparkling as if it was all that mattered, and his left pede twitched in the rippling waves of overload. Logic dictated that he offline the sparkling, and rid himself of the immense weakness it posed to him. His spark dictated that regardless of what Shockwave's logic dictated- he would follow the young spark to the well.

Shockwave sagged against the rubble, and held a trembling hand over the shaking body of his bonded. It had leaked a small trail of fluid over his chassis, and it was radiation pleasure, tinged with shaken and hesitant affection. Shockwave's spark felt warm. The haze of his overload slowly dissipated, and the touch of the sparkling's spark against his own was suddenly stifling. He closed the bond, snapping the connection as well as he could, and slid his chestplates closed.  
>The sparkling whimpered in his hold, but Shockwave ignored its pleas to reconnect, and sent a one-way wave of cool reassurance. The sparkling didn't have to be afraid. Shockwave would keep it alive by any means possible.<p>

Shockwave held the sparking close to his chest and acclimated his systems to the small parasite feeding off his energon. Shockwave fashioned a crude seat for the sparkling to hang in from a few pieces of thin scrap, and he continued along his way to the location of his soon-to-be laboratory.

**A/N: Opinions and thoughts are appreciated :) **


	3. Preparations

His chosen location, as he had expected, was desolate and abandoned. All of Cybertron was a scrapheap, but underneath the ground, there was a small series of caverns. Old records stated that it had been used for illegal mechanimal fighting pits, and later repurposed as a brig once the war started. Then the reports had become muddled, to end with a frantic rapport about cosmic rust. Shockwave had a suspicion that that message had been a Decepticon ploy rather than the truth. It was unfortunate that he no longer had access to the Decepticon network.

Shockwave's bonded sparkling was forming a larger problem with every passing moment, and rebuilding a lab with such a fragile part of himself hanging from a few lines his chassis was asking for trouble. He had not found the time to attempt disconnecting the sparkling from his frame, and the more time passed, the more Shockwave became convinced that disengaging the sparkling would only make things worse.

Its frame was weak and thin, its energonlines were too supple and pliable, and its spark held a power over Shockwave that had his battle protocols surging online when he thought about it. By bonding to the sparkling, he had taken half of his spark, and stored it inside a glass little shell. If he disengaged it, it could trip and kill itself. It could get caught in an acid rain, it could refuse to refuel, it could get cosmic rust from stuffing parts of dead mechs into its mouth-... It was only logical that he integrate the sparkling into his chassis, where it would be as safe as his own spark.

"Krkrllikkrrll-" The sparkling spat out unintelligible words, and it reached for Shockwave's spark, asking for reassurance or approval. Shockwave responded as he always did, with a cold wave of reassurance and disapproval. It was only following its basic programming by attempting speech, but it was a waste of time to indulge it. Punishment however, did not deter the bonded sparkling, and it only ever resulted in a pained noise and another attempt.

Curt little jolts of need and hope kept lapping at the edges of Shockwave's spark, utterly distracting and irritating. He ignored it as best as he could. Shockwave scrutinised the long-stretching field of debris and pulled a few salvageable plates from the mangled ground. The sparkling kept him from transforming as he was now, and even with its makeshift little seat Shockwave had a hard time keeping the sparkling safely attached to his frame. He would have to put as much speed into the sparkling, project SW-05, as he could.

He lifted a thick piece of metal, and scanned the rubble below. A halfrusted femme-frame lied crushed at his pedes, and Shockwave threw the rubble off. Her parts would be imperative to his bonded's integration. He would need to replace most of its wiring. With their rag-tag connection as it was now, he was experiencing a delay of energon to his left pede.

"Kkkrrklklr-kik-lkl-kiliiiirirk?" A tiny servo was pawing at his chestplates, and the tiny tendrils of an undeveloped spark were begging for a merge. Shockwave slid his chestplates open, and carefully shifted the sparkling so their sparks could press together. It was only logical to indulge the sparkling. The merge and the overload kept the sparkling sated, quiet, and dazed against his chestplates, and it left Shockwave's with some valuable time in which the sparkling was not distracting him.

Shockwave shuddered with as his spark swallowed the tiny flick of life in the sparkling's open chest. The small source of vibrant energy writhed and struggled in the power of Shockwave's life energy, sending hot ripples of pelasure coarsing through his systems. Shockwave's interface array was roaring active, and Shockwave let his spikecover slide aside with a grunt. There would be no need for tactile stimulation, the energies of their merge were already setting his sensors ablaze, bringing him higher and higher and higher-...

The sparkling went over the edge first, optics completely dilated and small frame twitching against Shockwave's chestplates. Shockwave was lost in the overwhelming sensations of the sparklings emotions. His spike had expelled its transfluids at some point, and Shockwave's frame trembled with the effort to keep standing upright.

Even as the overload faded and their sparks untangled he kept the sparkling pressed to his spark. When he integrated the sparkling, he would have it positioned around his spark. He would not replace its chestplates- he wanted access to that small spark whenever he desired. The bond was like an amplifier of the outside world, bombarding him with sensations that his own systems were unable of reproducing. They were useless, illogical sensations, but they were fascinating a way that had him longing for a merge at the most illogical times.

The sparkling was emitting waves of exhaustion and fatigued excitement over their bond, and its tiny frame tried to wriggle even closer to Shockwave's chassis. Tiny servos reached for Shockwave's spark, and he snapped his chestcovers closed immediately. The sparkling flinched, and sent a helpless wordless query over their bond. Shockwave ignored it, and made a mental note to secure or produce suitable restrains if he were to work the sparkling into his chassis. He would not have any servos in reach of his spark, perhaps only excluding Megatron.

Shockwave carefully put the sparkling back into the makeshift carry-seat, and returned to his previous task. The disintegrating frame of the Femme had been kept safe from the acid rains, and he could make good use of her inner metals. His processor was already finishing the first basic designs for the sparkling's protection, and he started gathering the necessary components from the broken frame. It would take a while, but he would go to his destroyed labs, and salvage some tools from there. As soon as he had the tools and supplies, he would start the integration progress.

Shockwave was searching through the femme's subspace in search for tools when a sudden wave of static reached him. One of the Decepticon frequencies had come online, and the secretive ping that he received was unmistakable.

Soundwave.

Shockwave's curled his claws tightly around his most brittle component and the sparkling whimpered in discomfort. He could not show himself to the Decepticons. Not with his spark so obscenely weak and open. He would have to hurry his repairs. He sent a quick confirmation to Soundwave, keeping his location and welfare out of picture, and made his signal untraceable. The silent mech would see his message for what it was; a polite request to stay away until further notice or risking Shockwave's discovery by Autobot troops. Soundwave did not open any other channels, and Shockwave was left alone to work on protecting his spark.

**A/N: Yet another chapter bringing us closer to an end. **


	4. Modifications

Several tense decacycles and a growing amount of pings from Soundwave later, Shockwave had finally gathered the necessary equipment for the integration process. The Autobots had spotted him once when he was gathering materials. It'd been a far messier escape than the first, especially since he had lost all desire to use his brittle fragile bondmate as a hostage. He'd gotten away and they had not found his newest lab, but it would only be a matter of time. Shockwave would have to hurry in building his escape-vehicle. Sacrificing some room would speed up the progress by a few solarcycles at least.

￢ﾀﾜShh...wave.￢ﾀﾝ Shockwave sent an automatic wave of acknowledgement through the bond and continued spreading out the tools for surgery. The sparkling had started to attempt rudimentary communication, but its vocabulary was so limited that it barely had use at all.

It knew the words 'later', 'no', 'merge', and 'Shockwave'. That last word had been an irrational urge on Shockwave's part to hear his partner call out his name- driven to greater heights by the sparkling's simple emotions that rolled through him during one of their merges. The sparkling wanted to know, and while logic had not deemed it necessary, it had not been illogical to grants its wish. So he had spoken during one of their merges, chanting his own name in a static-laden monotone.

￢ﾀﾜShockwave. Shockwave. Shockwave. Shockwave...￢ﾀﾝ

The sparkling was a quick learner, and it had said his name, voice laced with static. The reluctant approval that had wormed itself across the bond had thrown the sparkling into a twitching little overload, and Shockwave had followed. Approval had since then joined their 'bond-vocabulary', and it was the sparkling's favourite feeling, not counting overload.

Sometimes, when the Autobot patrols came a little too close to his base, Shockwave sent a faux wave of approval to his bondmate, just for the overwhelming calmness that would emit from the sparkling. A curt, simple burst of positive emotion had immense effects on the sparkling, and if he held the bond open- they extended to himself. It was worrying.

His file regarding his bondmate-experiment was growing thicker, mostly with all the different outputs that the sparkling had on Shockwave's messages. The more he knew about his bondmate, the more he could use it to his advantage. Now however, Shockwave had a different experiment to start.

Shockwave lied down on the old med berth, and kept his optic on the cracked screen by his side. The sparkling was snuggled against his chest, anxiety running through their bond. They were in the most protected part of his new lab, and a repurposed security camera was pointed at Shockwave's chassis, giving him a clear view of his insides on the monitor. The sparkling did not understand what was going to happen, but it was afraid. Annoying flashes of worry, indignance, whining and panic kept brushing against Shockwave's mind, and as punishment Shockwave sent a flare of pain through their bond. His own systems seized for a moment as the pain echoed back to him, but he found the effort worth it as the sparkling violently retreated, allowing Shockwave to close the bond as effectively as he could. He could feel the sparkling sulking, the raw edge of betrayal and sadness almost as irritating as the sparkling's little tantrum.

Self-surgery had never been one of Shockwave's preferred experimental occupations, but in this situation, there was no other choice. To leave his bonded open to the world was downright suicidal. He had plenty of enemies, and logic dictated that many of them would not hold their hand simply because he was bound to a sparkling.

Shockwave lifted the little bot from his chassis, and ignored the sparkling's frightened attempts at establishing the bond. There was a flash of memroy and panic as the sparkling fought to stay close to him.

Their messily connected fuel-lines were stretched between their frames as Shockwave carefully placed the sparkling besides him on the berth. He removed makeshift sparkling-carrier and dropped it besides the berth. His chestplates were covered in tiny scrape marks from the movements of the sparkling, and tiny streaks of dried lubricant and energon were congealing on his paint. Shockwave had never thought to clean the sparkling after its repeated overloads, or clean the energon that spilled from their shared lines. A rather poor oversight. He filed it as a new subroutine in his maintenance folder.

More careful than he'd ever been before, Shockwave started to detach the plating that was protecting his spark. He set the removed plates on a makeshift table and reached for his carefully arranged tools. He dulled his sensors as much as was beneficial, and started rearranging his innards to make room for his bonded. He tied his energonlines back, made small, calculated dents in his own protoform, and slowly hollowed the space right besides his spark. His hands were numb, but he could feel the injuries he was inflicting on himself as a dull pressure. His self-repair was offline, and he would have to recalibrate his repairsystems after the operation or the nanytes would try to expel his bondmate from his body.

Reshaping his own form was meticulous work, and unwanted ideas ran through his mind as he worked- experiments of morbid interest. What if he were to intrage a sparkling within a youngling within an adult? Could the sparkling's fuel tank he used as a backup for his own systems? Could he access its processor for additional thinking power? The sparkling caught wind of his ideas, and it froze against his chassis, confusion mingling with fear in their bond.

Shockwave quickly filed his ideas away for future experimentation, and continued his work. He sent a small wave of reassurance to the sparkling as it tried to make sense of the grisly images that had come through the bond with Shockwave's ideas. The surgery continued for several long orns, but eventually, there was a neat, sparkling-sized space besides Shockwave's spark. It was rudimentary at best, but Shockwave could make further tweaks once the conditions of his lab were better. It would do for now.

Shockwave plucked the sparkling loose from his plating, and carefully manoeuvred it into his chassis, letting its bare spark rest against his own. The sparkling was still scrabbling at their closed bond, but the dull feeling of dread and trepidation was now overtaken by excitement and overwhelming relief. Shockwave allowed the bond to open, just a tiny bit. The sparkling was saying his name as Shockwave lowered it into his chassis, and the little hands grabbed greedily at his insides, reaching for the source of pleasure and safety that the sparkling knew to be Shockwave's spark.

Shockwave sent a sharp wave of dissaproval, and the little servos drew back obediently. Shockwave made restraints a top priority as his spark was still coiling wildly from the invading near-touch of clumsy servos.

The sparkling's open chest was only inches from Shockwave's sparkchamber, and the little bot wriggled until it was snugly burrowed in between Shockwave's wiring. Shockwave watched his bondmate on the monitor. He couldn't crane his head far enough to see into his own chassi.

Shockwave's energy levels were low, and his state influenced the sparkling as if they had always been part of the same frame. The sparkling took in a yawning vent, and slipped into recharge. Shockwave looked into its dim optics through the camera as he locked his chestpanels over his bonded. All the little sparkling had to do was stay safe- right near his spark. Shockwave would take care of the rest.

Cleanup was quick and efficient. He left the camera and viewing screen intact, and tried not to feel the slightly shifting weight in between his systems. There was still much to do- the restraints were a necessity, and it would need chestplates. It would not do for the sparkling to initiate a merge at any random moment.

Shockwave made a detailed report on his surgery, and decided to do a bit more work before he re-activated his sensorgrid. The sparkling would undoubtedly wake up when his sensors caught up with the pain from his surgery. He let his self-repair recalibration run in the background.

He contacted Soundwave. The communications officer was the best bet in the current situation. Megatron had gone missing, but there was no solid proof of his demise. Starscream was noticeably absent from the scene, and besides a heap of unimportant grunts with more bulk than processor there were barely any free Decepticons left. Swindle, Bliztwing, and Lugnut were all MIA, and Soundwave was the only one with motivation and skill enough to bring them all back together. Soundwave was not a good leader, but that was not the role the mech was attempting to play. He was preparing for Megatron's return.

Shockwave could appreciate the logic behind that decision. The only moment where it was logical to assume Megatron dead, was when his graying frame slowly disappeared into the smelter pits. Even then, the gladiator seemed to be able to return from his grave.

Thus, Soundwave was the surrogate leader of the Decepticons. Shockwave found him inexperienced, a poor planner when it came to the situation- but they had no one better. Soundwave was not on Cybertron anymore, and he had issued an order for a simple space vehicle, assumedly to sniff out Astrotrain or another space-capable mech.

What Shockwave had built in his lab was more of a glorified escape pod than a true ship, but for one bots it was almost comfortable to travel in for extended periods of time. It held room for perhaps two other mechs, if one didn't mind sacrificing personal space and paintjobs.

Next to building shuttle, all his time was spent on himself and his bonded. A few days after first operation, he had strapped the sparkling tightly to his protoform until it was nearly immobile. It could barely shift around minimally, and with much effort it could curl its small servos carefully against Shockwave's spark. It hadn't liked the restraints. It had struggled, and nearly dislocated a lubricant-line, but Shockwave had managed to placate it.

All it took was sending a few simple images and concepts over the bond. Those unrelenting iron bands weren't restraints, they were caresses, from Shockwave to the sparkling. Warm, cosy hugs that would never let the sparkling go, and that would keep it safe... Shockwave had no more trouble installing them, and as he closed his chestplates he could see the sparkling shifting and curling into their grip with utmost content.

The following improvement was a simple metal plate- meant to separate their sparks during the day. It had become immeasurably distracting to feel the sparkling trying to merge with him, and the aftermath of the punishments he dealt out were a strain on his concentration just as much as the sparkling's attempted merges. The metal plate slipped perfectly into place, and after fiddling with the wires for a bit, Shockwave could remotely retract the panel whenever he wanted. The sparkling took to rapping its knuckles on the plate when it wanted a merge.

After that, he installed some sound-dampening padding and split his own energon lines for a better flow to his left pede. The small fuel lines of the sparkling had been causing a delay when trying to use a burst of power in that particular limb.

The sparkling was a consistent warm weight in his chassis, and an ever present distraction in his mind. Any thought or emotion that Shockave let slip through the bond was immediately met with wonder, burning curiosity and pleading. He could feel it shifting anxiously in its restraints at all times, bound little hands trying to grab at his lines and fingertips scraping over the barrier between their sparks.

It was unhappy, and by virtue of their bond, Shockwave felt every single moment of its displeasure. As he attached the launch-mechanisms to his small shuttle, the sparkling sobbed from within his chassis. Shockwave's frame was responding to the sparkling's misery, and as he almost dropped a vital part of his shuttle Shockwave concluded that his bond had been a phenomenal mistake.

He did all he could to continue as things had been for as long as he'd functioned. He kept the bond closed tightly, drank lightly sedating energon, lashed out at his bondmate... It all bounced straight back at himself. The sparkling was unhappy, and thus, he was unhappy.

It was after several long decacycles of uneasy restlessness, breaking equipment and the illogical urge to crush something that Shockwave decided to install a one-way sensory connection with the sparkling. A simple circuitry board and a few lines, and the sparkling could hear and see through Shockwave's sensors. The operation had been tough with the sparkling struggling in frustration, tired of the restraints and darkness and no more merging...

The instant he had powered the newly installed sensory link, the sparkling had frozen in its desperate tantrums. It had been quiet for a klik, and then Shockwave had been swamped by a thick wave of gratitude, happiness and love. Almost automatically the barrier between their sparks had retracted, and Shockwave was losing himself in the whirlwind of simple HAPPY that was the sparkling. Overload was a pleasure like nothing else, and the endless waves of gratitude were blinding. As the sparkling dozed on the edge of recharge, Shockwave was left with deepening regret. Stupid. He had never used the word in reference to himself, but it was most fitting. He had been immeasurably stupid.

If he had known the true extent of a bond, he would not have done it- not with a sparkling at least. His disregard for the influence of emotions and spark-matters ignorance over had come back to punish him. Instead of the perfect hostage, he had a tiny parasite that held near absolute control over him.

He kept those thoughts hidden from the sparkling as best as he could. If it ever decided to revolt, to stop enjoying their bond and to try and punish him instead of seeking only reassurance... Shockwave's spark was cold when he realised that the sparkling's control over him was as strong as his control over the other. Small and underdeveloped as it was, it could deal back anything that Shockwave dished out. They were one.

Shockwave gave his power, his cool logic, his intelligence-... the sparkling gave its weakness of frame, ignorance and misguided love. It was immeasurably important that that misguided love was kept intact. Shockwave drifted off into recharge with his processor milling over the countless little things he could attempt to keep his sparkling happy with him.

A decacycle later Shockwave was welding the last plating to his shuttle when Soundwave sent a distress signal. It cut off mid-transmission, quickly being replaced with building static. Shockwave did not send any message back. Soundwave had not yet supplied any rende vous coordinates, and Shockwave was left to plan on his own.

The following decacycle, Shockwave waited for a message from Soundwave, but the communications officer kept complete radio silence. Shockwave continued building his shuttle, and began to seek out his own co-ordinates. He finished the shuttle, and planned the launch two cycles later.

In those cycles he scavenged for scraps and stocked up on supplies, always monitoring the comm frequencies buzzing over Cybertron. The Autobots had managed to re-open the old communications network, and more than a few of them were simple unsecure comm lines. He listened to the idle chatter of workers, builders, younglings and teachers. The Autobots were rebuilding, and the voices and messages were hopeful and cheery. They mirrored the feeling that the sparkling sometimes emitted when Shockwave opened his chestplates to stroke his bonded with a cleaning-cloth. Soundwave's signal never once showed up.

Shockwave listened in complete silence to a couple of creators discussing the purchase of a bigger form for their sparkling, and the most suitable mix of energon. Shockwave stood idly, his work momentarily forgotten, and he brushed his energies against his bondmate's spark. It had grown bigger from the first time he'd touched it.

One of the chatting creators said that the sparkling needed his attention, and the transmission went quiet. Shockwave tuned out the frequencies, and continued working as the sparkling idly tried to replicate the sounds it had heard over the comm lines.

Shockwave spent his last cycle on Cybertron in a newly build civilian settlement. He snuck into the temporary quarters of a few neutral bots, and when they woke the next day, their supply of energon and sparkling-fuel was gone together with any useful tools that had been in their possession.

Shockwave did not enjoy the mellow taste of the sparkling fuel, and as the sparkling happily chattered nonsense to itself, Shockwave wondered if it would even notice the difference once the fuel started running through his lines. He loaded the sparklingfuel into his shuttle anyway. It was only logical to keep as much supplies as he could, and though it had a questionable taste, sparkling fuel was still fuel. Perhaps he could attempt to power the shuttle with it.

The date of his long planned launch arrived, and Soundwave had not been in contact. Shockwave knew that Soundwave would find him again in due time, and if he didn't, Shockwave would simply continue doing what he did best; following the laws of logic.

**A/N: Not too happy with this. Eh, I don't know what I'm trying to write anyway so I guess it's all good.**


	5. Goodbye Cybertron

Shockwave's escape from Cybertron had gone far better than he had anticipated. There had been some commotion distracting the Autobots, allowing him to leave Cybertron with only a few warnings and a half hearted attempt at shooting him out of the sky. After a few joors of flying at full-speed without being followed, Shockwave knew he'd gotten away.

He set course to one of the neutral settlements he knew to exist. The settlements were small, desolate places, with only the barest of resources. Solitary enough that attacking them would be a waste of resources and time no matter what would be won. It was the only reason the settlements had been allowed to exist at all while Megatron had led his army. Shockwave chose the colony that had been most isolated, and that was least likely to recognise him. One that was completely free of Autobot influence. Soundwave would be able to track him down, Shockwave had no doubt about that, and he made no attempts to leave a beacon for the mech.

He arrived on his planet of choice three decacycles later, having taken full advantage of a few unsecured Autobot Space bridges and cutting his flying distance in half. The sparkling had been mesmerised by the visages of space, and Shockwave had often found himself staring out of the viewport as he typed his reports blindly and mentally simulated theoretical experiments.

His arrival on the backwater planet had been welcomed by the inhabitants. The rock itself was a simple asteroid with some surrounding gasses that were attempting to form an atmosphere, and it was thankfully devoid of alien life. The neutrals had been happy for a new addition to their small commune, and they were even more excited when Shockwave told them of his supposed expertise as a repair-bot.

He'd quickly been given one of the empty house-plots, and he'd thrown together a workshop. He'd reluctantly accepted the help of the other bots. To refuse their help would only give a chance to suspicion and doubts. So he kept his optic glowing neutrally, and congratulated himself on the excellent decision of living without a faceplate.

The sparkling was fascinated by the other bots, and it'd taken quite a while for Shockwave to realise that the sparkling hadn't seen a Cybertronian besides himself ever since he had escaped from the Autobots. At moments, he could feel the sparkling trying to detach from him- attempting to reach for another bot, and merge with them as it did with Shockwave. Shockwave was quick to punish, even if it left himself out of breath and aching all over his body where nothing had touched him. It was a pain he'd have to bear for as long as his bondmate attempted contact.

Even as Shockwave's workshop became active and the locals started to recognise him by more than just his name and outer appearance, Soundwave was still not initiating contact. There were plenty of long distance news signals telling of an Autobot Decepticon conflict on some far away border of the stellar system. Shockwave had no intention to join the skirmish. It would have been a waste of his cover and fuel, but he listened to the news as often as he could. If there was ever the smallest hint of Soundwave's capture or death, Shockwave would convert his cover-life into his real life until the dangers had passed.

The door to Shockwave's workshop opened with a rusty screech and tore him from his musings.

"Hey there, ol' One-Eye!" Shockwave had not replaced his faceplate when picking his disguise. There was no suitable replacement for the thick steel that guarded his most prized systems, and a simple disguise had been easily fashioned. The fact that he looked as if someone had melted half his head was an unpleasant but necessary effect.

Inside Shockwave's chest, his bondmate squirmed happily against his spark and spouted incomprehensible words of greeting at the newcomer. The sparkling liked the people of the settlement too much. Shockwave ignored the chirping sparkling, and turned to his customer.

"Welcome, Skidwheel. Did you break a tool again?" The mech gave him a sheepish shrug, and dropped an unsightly drill on Shockwave's table.

"I'm afraid so, rocks 'round here is tougher than it looks. Coulda sworn I found a soft spot this time... Anyway, the usual price?" Shockwave picked up the tool and turned it over in his hands. It would be a joor of work at best. A joor of uninteresting drone work. As logical was it was to seem like a common workmech, Shockwave found that he had a heavy distaste for the lowly work. It was a waste of his processor power, an abuse of his potential, and yet it was more important to seem like a simple workmech than it was to construct a new weapon for Megaton, or to continue his experiments on extracting dead sparks from the well.

With well-hidden distaste he nodded at Skidwheel, and set the broken tool on his worktable. "Yes, the usual agreement will do. It is not much work." Skidwheel broke so many tools that it was a miracle the mech even found enough crystals to make profit with. Shockwave had fixed them all, and it had barely taken him a decacycle to become 'the best repairmech from all 'round the continent'. To his discontent, he had no lack of customers.

Perhaps it had not been smart to show his talents in repairs and improvements on any mechanical part, but he doubted that the simple Cybertorians would make the connection between the ugly brown spotted One-Eye and the war criminal Shockwave.

He had outdone himself in his disguise. He truly looked like a misshapen lump of scavenged bodyparts, old paint and rust. When he had finished his disguise, the sparkling had not recognised him. Even now, when he passed a reflective object, the sparkling would attempt to reach out to the stranger. Shockwave never punished it for that. Perhaps he should.

Skidwheel was still in his shop. "There are visitors in town today." Shockwave could care less about rumours and gossip, but he couldn't afford to take the risk of Autobots discovering his position. With hidden annoyance he resigned himself to idle chattering with Skidwheel, and he indulged in stroking against his bondmate's spark to feel better. Skidwheel talked on.

"Dirt grinder is excited- it's been some time since someone stayed at his inn and now he has four at the same time! Heh, now he can finally pay back the credits he owes me. I doubt that he will though... overenergising dolt that he is."

Shockwave nodded curtly, and he dialed up his social-act even as his annoyance grew. "Four visitors? Here? That is indeed a lot. Only the most adventurous or desperate bots come by this place." Skidwheel turned to him and gave him a knowing smile that had Shockwave aching to activate his disguised canon.

"Yeeea... These bots, they don't look desperate, nor adventurous. They're kind of... intense." Skidwheel frowned, and locked his optics on Shockwave. "They kinda remind me of you, though they got way better paintjobs." Shockwave didn't say anything, and Skidwheel quickly slipped back into a more comfortable subject. "Sorry, sorry- touchy subject... Anyhow, the mechs'll probably be hanging around DirtGrinder's refuel spot tonight- want to come with and watch 'em? Mech-spotting was always a favourite pasttime of mine."

The idea was ridiculous. Extended social interaction had never worked out in Shockwave's favour. "No, I have projects that need to be finished, and my social needs are veru much fulfilled." Shockwave flared the light in his optics to simulate a smile, and tried to ignore his bondmate's elated state. Perhaps it had caught onto the invitation, and not yet realised that Shockwave did not intend to go.

The Skidwheel's smile dropped, and he shrugged exasperatedly. "That's what you always say One-Eye. You should accept our invitations every once in a while, get some high-grade in you. No need to be strangers here!"

Shockwave's voice was completely deadpan. "I have had bad experiences with high-grade."

It wasn't a lie. A couple of confiscated barrels had exploded near his lab on the Decepticon base. It had ruined several vorns of valuable work, and it had severely dented Megatron's approval of him. Turning the culprit into his next experiment had done nothing to please either Megatron or himself.

"I will have your extractor finished in a joor or so. I will be closing up soon. You can collect your drill at opening time tomorrow. Good bye Skidwheel."

The customer was wise enough to get his faceplate out of Shockwave's business, and he nodded. "Sure thing One-Eye. I'll bring your payment, barrel of low grade and a battery. Primus knows how much you listen to that radio of yours to keep draining them so quickly. Haha- see you next cycle!"

Shockwave watched the mech leave his little shop, and the sparkling in his chest was muttering excitedly, repeating the words he had heard Skidwheel say.

"Shockwave, sshockwave. Prayment, One-Eye?" Shockwave had not found good material to dampen the sparkling's sounds with. He was almost starting to regret having the one-way connection installed. It would have been better for the sparkling to stay silent and blind within his chassis. It would have been worth the decrease in his efficiency, because now the sparkling's everlasting attempts at speech were becoming audible in silent rooms. It was why he had purchased a radio.

Shockwave held a hand over his chassis, and the sparkling wriggled in its loose restraints to return the gesture. If it had been raised in a normal fashion, it would have been placed inside a minibot frame by now. The small spark had grown considerably and it had been sending inquiries that Shockwave had no means or intention of answering.

The word 'why' seemed to be on a constant repeat in their bond. Why was Shockwave so annoyed at the other mechs? Why were the other mechs in this or that colour? Why is the sky colour different? Useless sparkling questions, ones he had no time for.

One time, after ignoring an impressive row of inane questions, the sparkling had thrown a tantrum. Shockwave had felt it thrashing around in between his chassis, and he was confirmed in his decision to installing the restraints on his bondmate. In its bout of anger, it could have damaged his spark by simply flailing its arms just a bit too harshly.

Still, waves of anger were easily ignored compared to the other emotions of the sparking. Anger was one of the few emotions that Shockwave was vaguely familiar with- a lowly burn and an activated combat-program was far less distracting than that weird aching that pulled at his spark when his bondmate was sad. Anger distanced the sparkling from their bond, pushing him away. Shockwave responded to that push with eagerness, and enjoyed the peace it brought when both him and the sparkling closed their bond. Mostly, the sparkling's anger would crumble into a sad ache, and it would attempt to open the bond again- asking to make everything alright again with a wave of emotions that had Shockwave weak in his pedes. He never wanted to give in, but he always relented and merged with his bondmate to just get rid of the cold emotions dragging him down...

Shockwave fixed Skidwheel's tool hurriedly, and returned to his personal studies. He focused on theoretical experiments, and creating new encryption languages with near-impossible solution codes. He filed those away for the future, for Megatron, in case the gladiator was still alive somewhere. The theories and encryption codes were piling up next to the growing amount of adjustments he wanted to make to his bondmate.

There was nothing else he could really do. Megatron had no use for a mech in spark-stasis, and that was what he would become if he roused even the smallest bit of suspicion. No, Shockwave would wait for word from Soundwave or Megatron himself, and then he would offer his services and the endless weaponry blueprints he'd made as compensation for the time he spent in hiding.

Shockwave closed his shop, and moved to his berth, allowing the small barrier between his spark and his bondmate's spark to retract. As he sat on his berth he could already feel their energies tangling together, and his spike quickly pressurised after he clicked open his panel. The sparkling was making soft noises from within him, and he felt its frame rubbing against him. Shockwave stroked over his spike and offlined his optic as he let his overload approach.

Afterwards, he drank a quick cube of energon, performed some minor maintenance, and finally settled in a deep effective recharge. He was woken by a storm of comm-messages razing through the air, the sound of blasters, and Soundwave standing by the side of his berth. The roars of Lugnut and the cackling laughter of Blitzwing sounded outside as something exploded and sent a flash of light through the single window in Shockwave's room.

Soundwave's side was wet with energon, and no casettes were visible on his frame. His monotone voice was high and laced with static as he asked; "Query: location escape shuttle?"

**A/N: This story still weirds me out. I hope you are enjoying it so far. Two more chapters to go! **


	6. Extraction

Shockwave was screaming- or maybe it was his bondmate. The pain receptors in his body were on fire, and the sparkling in his chest was effectively amplifying Shockwave's pain until he could barely keep his processor functional.

His one optic was staring down the barrel of an Autobot blaster, and a heavy pede was pressing on his chest- almost crushing his bondmate within. The Autobot spoke in a degrading arrogant tone, and pressed down his pede a little harsher.

"Decepticon Shockwave. You are being arrested for severe warcrimes, mass murder, immoral experiments, aiding the Decepticon cause, illegal cloning, sparkrape and forced sparkbinding."

Shockwave's bondmate was in a panic, and Shockwave could feel it crying out in his chest, tiny sparkling hands scrabbling as it tried to pull free from the restraints he'd put on it. It was over, the war was finally over. Soundwave was pressed into the dirt a few paces to his right, a blaster in his neck and stasis cuffs around his single remaining arm. Energon was pooling into the sand. Lugnut and Bliztwing were no longer heard shouting.

Soundwave had been clear out of options. Shockwave's escape pod had been their only chance, and regrettably they had not made it. With the pod, they would have been able to leave the Autobot scouts in the dust. It made little difference now. The Decepticons that were still free would not be able to lead the Decepticons, and with the amount of mechs being captured Shockwave knew that even Megatron would have a hard time reassembling his army. The Decepticons were over.

The Autobot pinning Shockwave to the ground had shining blue optics, but with his demeanor he could have been a well-feared Decepticon. His grin reminded Shockwave of Starscream, only far less smug.

"You are one sick little fragger, Slagwave. Now surrender yourself. I have clearance to terminate you regardless of your 'bondmate'. If you don't co-operate-..."The mech faked pulling the trigger on his blaster and pulled his pede from Shockwave's chest so he could kick him in his side. "Now, where's the poor thing you forced into being your berthslave, you sick spikesucker?￢"

Shockwave heaved, and struggled to roll on his side, his fingers prying at his his chestplates. It would not do to disobey the Autobot, it was very clear he did not hold morality in high regard.

The Autobot sneered as he watched Shockwave pulling at the plating covering his spark. "What, going to end it yourself? I thought you of all the sick slagsuckers would-"

Shockwave's plating wrenched open, and the disgusted sneer dropped from the Autobot's face. The arrogant disdain faded, and turned into an expressionless shock.

Shockwave had skipped on cleaning after the last merge with his bondmate. He wondered if the Autobot could see the old lubricants and youngling-transfluids that the sparkling had leaked during its overload. There was energon everywhere.

The other present Autobots made sounds that Shockwave had only heard before in his laboratories, and one of them made a hiccuping sound that held back a purge. It would have been a satisfying reaction, had he carefully extracted it from the bots while they were tied to his dissection table.

The sparkling was crying, and calling out his name. One of the restraints had come loose, and the freed hand was desperately gripping the edge of Shockwave's exposed sparkchamber. It hurt, and he send a punishment through the bond that went completely ignored.

"Shhockwave, much! Light, Shock-wave, Showkcrrave-" Shockwave could feel it struggling inside as it tried to curl closer to his spark, seeking safety and comfort in a deep merge. Shockwave kept the barrier between their sparks in place and tried to send calming emotions through their bond.

"...I... I heard you were sick." The not-so-arrogant-anymore Autobot looked like someone had fed him a bucket of slag, and the barrel of his blaster was shaking. Shockwave said nothing. He did not want to die. "I heard you were fragging sick, but I didn't think-...! Nobody-!... This is-!" The mech backhanded him, and Shockwave's bondmate screeched from within the cavity of his chest. It was crying like only a sparkling could, mixing infantile clicks through its sobbing hiccups. It had felt the hit, and it was trying to apologise, thinking that it was punishment.

The bot was shaking. "I would torture you. Right here, right now. I would... I would humiliate you with everything I could- I-...! You-!" The mech did not hit him again, but Shockwave could see how much he wanted to. Showkave struggled to sit upright, and he curled a hand over the crying sparkling fighting in its restraints.

"Any damage inflicted upon me, shall be felt by my bondmate."

"Don't you dare. Don't you fragging dare to call him your bondmate! What you did to this sparkling- the Pits aren't even-! -if Unicron raped you ifor the rest of eternity it still wouldn't-...!" The Autobot reminded Shockwave of Starscream in a fit of rage. Oh how many times hadn't he watched the seeker clench his hands into fists as he held back an assault on Megatron. The Autobot yanked a heavy set of stasis cuffs from his subspace, locking them firmly around Shockwave's servos.

"Shockwave- klkkrkl! Shock -wave... merge-klrkklkr! Shockwave, merge." Whispering whimpers. They reminded him of his labs, but the overpowering fear and anxiety coming from the bond killed any notion of comfort from that comparison. Small sparkling hands, scratched and worn with age, were running over the edges of his sparkchamber. The sparkling wanted to merge- make everything alright again in the only way it knew how.

Shockwave denied it. Merging with his bondmate in front of the Autobots was likely to end in their permanent offlining or a lot of pain.

The Autobot looked lost, and he kneeled next to Shockwave. He was looking at the sparkling with a pained expression, and Shockwave recognised it from the many times he had forced a bot to hurt a sparkling for the good of his experiment. "Hey... little guy. I'm-...my name's Hackpin." The sparkling ignored the Autobot's words, and only cried harder, trying to hide himself in Shockwave's chassis.

The Autobot looked as if someone had forced him to eat his own spike, and his gaze focused on Shockwave again. The bot was shaking, and his denta were crushed together. "Close that obscene slagpit of a sparkchamber, you sick freak."

Shockwave immediately snapped his chest compartment shut, and his sparkling mewled with sobbing relief in the darkness. Its attempts at a merge only strengthened. It's voice was still audible. "Merge- kkrklklk- Shockwave. With me- merge!"

The Autobots ignored it, and yanked Shockwave upright. Soundwave was in no state to walk, and he was dragged along the ground with a grating scraping sound. The neutral bots in the settlement had gathered around the scene, and Shockwave caught the gaze of Skidwheel. He had never liked the bot, but his spark suddenly crumpled in pain as the sparkling wailed for the loss of one of its friends.

Shockwave was set in a comfortable cell on the scouting ship. Soundwave was not in any of the adjacent cells, nor were Lugnut and Blitzwing. One of the Autobots came in his cell to patch him up. His desire to hurt Shockwave was apparent in his strained expression, but Shockwave's whimpering bondmate made sure that the bot did nothing besides repairing. Shockwave attempted to find a way out of his predicament. There was none. His hostage was as good as worthless- he would only be hurting himself.

Immediately upon arrival on Cybertron, he was brought to a hospital for the extraction of his bondmate. Shockwave felt the atmosphere heavy on his shoulders. The Autobots were victorious, and the happy cheer of the winners hung like a block of concrete over his frame.

Shockwave did not struggle- extraction and imprisonment was inevitable and thus it would be illogical to fight it. His bondmate did not agree. The small sparkling nearly wore out its vocalisers as Shockwave was strapped down and his chestplates were forced open.

The sparkling knew what they were going to do, and it was afraid. Shockwave found it vaguely amusing that for all their carefully crafted morals, the Autobots were all too willing to break them if they thought it was for the good of the bot in question. They thought it would be best for the sparkling to be separated from him, even if the young spark was screeching in fear of their scalpels and soft voices.

His pain receptors were offlined, but he was kept awake as they started to work on extracting the sparking. The sparkling did not want to leave Shockwave, and the medics had great trouble keeping the wriggling sparkling still when the prepared for surgery. Waves of pure fear were rolling off his bondmate's spark, and Shockwave let them roll in without so much as a response. He knew his bondmate- no matter what emotion or pulse he sent through the bond, it would only lead to more fear.

The medics kept their emotions so tightly in check that their faceplates almost seemed like masks as they started to cut the sparkling loose from Shockwave. The sparkling attempted to merge through the thin-chestplates Shockwave had installed so long ago, and Shockwave could see the stone expressions of the medics tightening.

"That's not supposed to-... Cutwire, how old is he?"

"...-Approximately 25 vorns, give or take a few."

"Send a quick ping to storage and the builders. We'll need a frame as quickly as possible- make sure they know how important this is.?

Shockwave couldn't move an inch in his restraints, but he had a good view of the operation. Perhaps the room had been used for torture through body modification. It would explain the queer choice of a mirrored ceiling. He saw the sparkling. It was screaming like an audial glitch, its small hands holding a deathgrip on his inner circuits as the medics tried to untangle him.

Hup- one of the servos was pried loose and held back by one of the medics. A short tug, and fwip- the sparkling had lost its grip. The medics held the struggling sparkling as carefully as they could, as another came forward with a cutter. The energonlines connecting Shockwave to his bondmate were cut, one by one, and then the sparkling was loose.

One of the medics took the fighting sparkling in his arms and immediately hurried to a second medical berth. Shockwave wasn't sure if it was his own anxiety or his bondmate's, but his spark was screaming with every step the sparkling was taken away from him. The sparkling struggled and kicked, screaming Shockwave's name with bursts of static.

"SHOCK! KKLKk kkkrl-rlkrkKKLKik klkRKK!"

"Dear Primus- how long was it in there...?"Two of the medics were tending to the sparkling, and Shockwave watched as they carefully tied its small body to the berth. The sparkling's joints were bent and crooked from a short lifetime of restraints, and its outer plating was nearly completely gone with how much it had rubbed against Shockwave's insides.

The third medic did a quick repair on Shockwave's fuel lines, and messily soldered his chestplates closed. Without a word he was sent from the operating room straight to the enforcers.

He was forced into a heavily armoured police van, and tried not to feel alarmed as his bondmate was taken further and further away from him.

It felt like someone was slowly tearing a limb off his body. A limb that happened to be connected to his spark. The distress from his bondmate was still there, but there was interference over their connection- leaving only the barest of impressions. Shockwave ached.

He sent the command to open his bondmate's chestplates, but there was no merge. The sweet little tendrils of that small spark were absent. He still felt the bond, like a horrid pulsating injury, screaming pure panic in his direction. One of the enforcers gave Shockwave a rough shove. He had forgotten to keep on moving.

He was stuck in a small cell, bound with as much cuffs and restraints they could spare. His guard stared at him and pelted him with bits of slag. Shockwave would have found that amusing in a different life. Perhaps he would have been planning his escape, or preparing himself for the meagre interrogation they were going to let loose on him.

All he could find himself doing was repeating the command for the non-existent chest-plates to open. He was in pain. They had taken a part of his spark, and it was afraid. He wanted to calm himself- calm that frantic piece of his spark, but the bond refused to transmit anything but his own trepidation.

Seeing how that was the only real emotion he had churning in his spark, it was only logical.

**A/N: I am really not happy with this story anymore. But I wrote it, and I will post all of it even if I hate it. Hum. At least I learned a few valuable lessons. **


End file.
